
E LITTLE CLASSIC semes.}! 


The Story 
of Granite, 
Copper 


|\ and Zinc 





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PUBLISHED BY 

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CHICAGO 


NOV 20 ’22 

©Cl A 6 9030 4 

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THE STORY OF GRANITE, COPPER AND ZINC 
By W. F. Rocheleau 
Copyright, 1922, A. Flanagan Company 

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

E have already 
learned of the 
composition of 
granite and how 
it can be distin¬ 
guished from 
other rock. The 
term granite as it 
is used in com¬ 
merce includes 
more than it does 
in its strict scien¬ 
tific sense. 

Granite in commerce means all stone that has the 
appearance of granite, whatever its composition 
may be, and includes syenite, a rock that closely 
resembles granite in appearance, but in its compo¬ 
sition has hornblende in the place of mica. 

Hornblende is a fibrous mineral found in a 
variety of forms. In syenite it occurs in crystals, 
usually of dark color, varying from green to black. 
It is firmer than mica, and makes the rock into 
which it enters harder and stronger. Many of the 
best granites are really syenites. 

l 





/ 

The name granite means granular or grain like, 
and is given to this rock on account of its peculiar 
structure and appearance. Granite is one of the 
oldest rocks in the earth’s crust, and was once in a 
molten state. When it cooled each mineral crystal- 
ized separately, but all were firmly cemented to¬ 
gether, forming the hardest and strongest rock in 
use. 

The country may be divided into three granite 
sections; the eastern, middle and wesrem. The 
first includes the Appalachian slope asd the At¬ 
lantic coast; the second the Mississippi valley; and 
the third the Rocky Mountain system and Pacific 
slope. The eastern section is worked principally 
in New England and Georgia; in the middle sec¬ 
tion Missouri, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin 
and Arkansas have developed quarries to some ex-, 
tent. The western section is practically unde¬ 
veloped, California being the only state worthy of 
mention as producing granite. 

Granite occurs in most mountainous regions all 
over the world, but it is not suitable for quarrying 
in but few localities. A granite country is always 
rough and mountainous, with clear streams and a 
good soil, provided a quantity of the rock has been 
changed into soil. In some localities we find hills 
and even mountains of solid granite, as in New 
Hampshire, which is called the Granite State. In 
2 


other places we find bowlders scattered over the 
meadows or prairies and far from any parent 
mountain or ledge. These bowlders have a 
rounded shape and look like sheep lying on the 
ground. On this account they have been called 
sheep backs by some geologists. 

We wonder how these rocks came here, so far 
from any other rock of the same kind. To under¬ 
stand this, we need to look to the Alps and the 
northern part of the Rocky Mountains and notice 
what is taking place there at the present time. 
We find the ravines and smaller valleys among 
these mountains filled with melting snow, form¬ 
ing rivers of ice called glaciers. They move 
slowly down the side of the mountain and carry 
along with them whatever stones or other deposits 
they may receive. The glacier melts at the bot¬ 
tom, and a stream of water is always running from 
it. As it melts, it drops the loose rocks that have 
come down the mountain on its surface, so we find 
at its foot a lot of stones resembling those found in 
our meadows. 

These bowlders tell a story of a time when the 
climate of our country was very different from 
what it is now. The country was then a land of 
icebergs and glaciers. They covered the entire 
surface, and held everything in their frozen grasp. 
All plants and animals had perished, and the con- 
3 


tinent was a wild waste of ice and snow. This waa 
before man lived upon the earth, but after the coal 
period. 

When these masses of ice began to melt they 
took a sliding motion towards the south-east, and 
carried along all the loose rocks that had been 
frozen into them. As the glaciers melted they 
dropped their burden, and we have the bowlde rs 
scattered over the land. The rubbing against each 
other and on the rocks over which they moved 
gave the bowlders the shape they now have. 

The moving of this mass of ice and stone over 
the outcropping ledges plowed deep furrows in 
some of them, and smoothed and polished others. 
The furrows and scratches thus formed are called 
striae, and point to the south-east; this tells us in 
which direction the mass moved. 

The great masses of granite that are quarried 
in this country are situated in the Appalachian 
region, and are worked principally in New Eng¬ 
land and Georgia, with smaller quarries in Mary¬ 
land, Pennsylvania and New York. The amount 
of granite in any one of these localities is sufficient 
to last the world for ages to come, so there need be 
no fear of its giving out in our day at least. 

HISTORY. 

The people of ancient Egypt were the first to 
4 


make use of granite for buildings and monuments. 
The stone used was a red syenite, and is very bard 
and durable, as the ruins of their works show. 
The stone was taken from quarries up the Nile 
and floated down to the place where it was to be 
used. The high degree of polish and elaborate 
carving with which these people finished their 
granite shows a great degree of skill on the part 
of their workmen. Their engineering skill must 
also have been equally good, for they moved blocks 
of great size and weight. In the Great Pyramid, 
whose base covers more than twelve acres, are 
found stones four feet square, and thirty feet long, 
and the shafts of some of their monuments were 
more than sixty feet in length. We do not know 
that they had any knowledge of steam power, or 
that they even used beasts of burden. To move 
stones of this size by the labor of men alone must 
have required an army of laborers and skillful 
management. 

In the center of the Great Pyramid is a chamber 
forty-six feet long, twenty-seven wide, and eleven 
and a half high. The walls of this chamber are of 
polished granite of a beautiful red color, and the 
slabs are as long as the walls are high. The ceil¬ 
ing is formed of nine immense slabs of the same 
stone. Still standing on the banks of the Nile, 
not far from Cairo, is one of those monuments 
5 


commonly known as Cleopatra’s Needles. This 
single shaft rises sixty-eight feet above the mud 
which has covered its base. Some one has fitly 
called it the “grave stone of a buried city,” 
for it is all that remains of that wonderful 
city where Joseph lived and ruled, and made 
himself known to his brethem. This monu¬ 
ment was reared nearly 3,000 years before 
Christ, and has with-stood the ravages of time for 
all these ages. 

Another «of these monuments was a few years 
ago placed in Central Park, New York, and has 
been of great interest to the thousands of visitors 
who frequent the place. These stones have been 
diligently studied by certain historians, for the 
history of the time in which they were erected is 
written upon them in the picture writing of the 
Egyptians. These historians have learned to read 
and translate the hieroglyphics, and from them 
we have obtained much knowledge of the life and 
customs of* this ancient people. That the figures 
are in almost a perfect state of preservation is due 
to the wonderful durability of the granite. 

The art of polishing and carving granite seems 
to have been lost for centuries after the decline of 
Egypt. In 1856, a statue of one of the Pharaohs 
was brought to the British Museum. The head 
had been broken off, and it became necessary to 
6 


fasten it to the body by inserting a strong iron rod 
to hold it in place. It took the workmen six 
weeks to drill the holes for this rod, and they 
broke several tools of the best construction during 
the work. How do you suppose the Egyptians 
carved the statue ? 


Up to the present time the New England states 
have been the center of the granite industry in this 
country. This is not because they contain more 



GRANITE QUARRY. 

granite than several other localities,, but because 
the location of their quarries has been very much 
to their advantage. Most of the New England 
quarries are so located that they can ship their 
stone by boat to nearly all places using it. They 
are also near most of the large cities of the country, 
so granite can be obtained from them cheaper than 
from any other quarries. These are important 
7 







factors in handling an article whose transportation 
is so expensive. 

The first of these quarries was opened in Quincy, 
Mass., in 1820. The development of this quarry 
is connected with two events of national import¬ 
ance; the construction of the first railroad in Amer¬ 
ica, and the erection of Bunker Hill Monument. 
The railroad extended only from the quarry to the 
wharf on the Neponset River, where the stone was 
loaded on to the boats. The rails were of wood,, 
* and the stone was carried on a platform that was 
suspended under the car and raised and lowered 
with a windlass. 

Daniel Webster, in his great oration at the lay¬ 
ing of the corner stone of Bunker Hill Monument 
said of it: “Springing from a broad foundation, 
rising high in massive solidity and unadorned 
grandeur, may it remain as long as Heaven per¬ 
mits the works of man to last, a fit emblem, both 
of the events in memory of which it is raised and 
the gratitude of those who have raised it.” Such 
are the enduring qualities of Quincy granite that 
no more suitable stone could have been selected for 
the purpose of carrying out Mr. Webster’s wish. 

The first recorded use of Quincy granite is in 
the construction of King’s Chapel, Boston, in 1752. 
The stone was taken from bowlders lying about 
the North and South Common, and so many were 


used that it was feared the supply would be 
exhausted, and several town meetings were held to 
discuss the matter. It seems that the people had no 
knowledge of the value of granite in the immense 
ledges about them, nor of the means of quarry¬ 
ing it. 

Granite had been quarried in New Hampshire 
before the Quincy quarries were opened, but it is 
with the large contract of these quarries for 
Bunker Hill Monument that the industry may be 



the demand has continually increased as years 
have added population and wealth to the country. 
In 1893 the three largest granite producing states 
were Massachusetts, Maine, and -Vermont. New 
York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Georgia and Min¬ 
nesota also produced considerable. 

The quarries in Quincy differ from those in other 
localities in that they are operated by a number 
of small firms instead of large corporations. Some 
of these firms give their entire attention to quarry¬ 
ing the rock, others to finishing it, and still others 
9 






to the manufacture of cases in which the finished 
stone is shipped. 

Some of the most noted New England quarries 
are on the islands off the coast of Maine, those on 
Dix, Fox and Hurricane Islands in Penobscot Bay 
being among the most valuable quarries in the 
country. Others are located along the indentations 
of the coast. The largest quarries in Vermont are 
located at Barre, and the quality of the stone is such 
as to place this state third in rank in 1893, when in 
1889 it was ninth. Certain quarries in Connecti¬ 
cut furnish an excellent stone, and the “Westerly” 
in Rhode Island is superior for monuments and 
ornamental purposes. 

Large deposits of granite of excellent quality 
are found in the northwestern part of Georgia. 
These quarries have been worked only a short 
time, but their product is in a fair way to become 
a strong competitor with that of the older quarries 
of New England. 

In the middle belt, the granite of St. Cloud, Minn., 
is worthy of special mention as a rock of great 
strength and durability. Stone from these quarries 
has endured the highest pressure test of any in the 
country. The quarries at Ortonville also furnish 
a stone of excellent quality, and the massive Henne¬ 
pin County Court House at Minneapolis is con¬ 
structed of this granite. On account of the 
10 


expense in transportation the product of the Min¬ 
nesota quarries has not been very generally placed 
on the market. 


The western belt is not yet developed, but as 
that section of the country becomes more densely 



THE NEW WAV. 

populated these fields will furnish abundant build¬ 
ing stone for all demands. 


QUARRYING AND WORKING. 

A granite quarry differs materially from a marble 
or slate quarry. The granite is usually found on 
or near the surface, and in many localities is cut 
from the side of a mountain of the solid rock. 
Most of these quarries can be worked for years 
without sinking below the level of the surrounding 
ll 










land, or at least going to a great depth, however, 
they frequently extend over a large area. The 
rock usually occurs in layers, or “sheets,” as the 
quarrymen call them. These sheets vary in thick¬ 
ness from two to ten feet, and can usually he split 
into courses without incurring much waste, though 
granite cannot be worked as economically as 
marble. 

Blasting has been found to be the most satisfac¬ 
tory method for loosening the rock, provided the 
blast is pretty sure to split it in the required direc¬ 
tion. Care must be taken to direct the force of the 
explosive along the line where the stone is to be 
broken. There are several methods of doing this. 

The first is called “lewising.” Two holes are 
drilled a few inches apart on the line of desired 
fracture; the core between them is then broken out. 
The explosive is placed in this elongated hole, and 
tamped the same as an ordinary blast. If a very 
long fracture is required several holes are drilled 
along the line, and the charges are all fired at the 
same instant by electricity. The powder exerts the 
greatest force in the direction of the longest dia¬ 
meter of the hole, and breaks the rock as desired. 

Another method is to drill a good sized hole to the 
desired depth, and then cut V-shaped crevices on 
opposite sides along the line of fracture. A plug 
is driven in above the powder so as to leave a 
12 


cushion of air between it and the tamping. This 
allows the explosive to act upon the rock more 
gradually, and removes the danger of shattering it 
into small pieces. This method is quicker, and 
less expensive than the other, and is usually very 
effective. Sometimes small holes are drilled along 
the line, and all fired at once. This can be done 
very well when the rock breaks readily and 
easily. 



block: of granite. 


When blasting cannot be resorted to without 
great waste, small drills are used, and the holes are 
placed only a few inches apart. Steel lips and 
wedges are placed in these and the rock is split off 
by driving on the wedges with a heavy hammer. 
The old way of doing this was to make crevices in 
the rock and insert wooden wedges, and then cause 
the rock to split by wetting the wedges and making 
them swell. This shows how much power there is 








in a small quantity of water when it is used in the 
right way. 

Very large blocks are frequently quarried by 
these various methods. Sometimes a free fracture 
125 or 130 feet in length is made by the blast from 
one lewis hole. At the Mt. Waldol quarry, Maine, 
a block 125x20x14 feet and containing 30,000 cubic 
feet, was loosened. Such results can be obtained 
only when the rock is free at the ends and under¬ 
neath, and has room to move out in front. 

A quarry in Missouri was mined; that is, a shaft 
was sunk and chambers, or drifts, were extended in 
all directions from it. These drifts were filled with 
•explosive and the mine was fired. The blast 
loosened enough rock to last the firm for fifty 
years. 

The methods for handling granite in transit re¬ 
semble very closely those used in handling marble. 
The principal difference is that the size of the blocks 
is larger, and the machinery needed heavier. The 
cable railway is employed in many quarries to move 
the blocks to the cars or sheds. This is made of a 
strong wire cable composed of steel and copper 
wires. This is fastened to a high tower at each 
terminus. The car is suspended to this and moves 
on a grooved pulley. The car may be a platform on 
which the stone is piled, or it may be a clamp that 
is firmly fastened to the large blocks. A hoisting 
14 


engine is connected with another wire rope that 
moves the pulley along by being wound around a 
drum. When the car is loaded the engine is started 
and the stone begins its journey through the air. 
If the quarry is on the side of a mountain, the 
engine unwinds the cable and the stone moves by 
its own weight. 

The sheds where the granite is finished present 
a busy appearance. Much the same machinery is 



CABLE RAILWAY. 

employed as in the marble mills, but a greater 
amount of work has to be done by hand. Granite 
does not split evenly, nor break with smooth sur¬ 
faces, and most of the blocks have to be evened and 
partially worked down before they can be worked 
by the machines. Then many of the different 
styles of finish must be done by hand, though a 
finishing tool driven by steam or compressed air 
has recently come into use. This machine strikes 
light blows very rapidly, and can do the work of 











several men. In the hands of a skillful operator it 
is very effective. 

All hand or machine finished surfaces have to be 
ground before they can be polished. The grinding 
is done with a rapidly revolving steel disk made of 
rings placed one within another. The disk re¬ 
volves horizontally, and is so arranged that it can be 
brought in contact with every part of the surface. 
The grinding is done by water and steel emery or 
sand. Granite is polished with a buffer and putty 
powder the same as marble. Lathes are used for 
turning pillars and shafts, and special devices are 
employed for polishing curved surfaces. 

Granite is so hard that it requires the best of 
tools and strongest machinery to work it success¬ 
fully. Much more time is also needed to work a 
piece of granite than a similar piece of marble. On 
account of this granite is more expensive than most 
other stones in general use. 

• 

varieties and uses. 

Of all stone quarried in the United States, gran¬ 
ite can be applied to the greatest number of uses. 
It is so hard that it posesses great strength, and so 
durable that the action of the weather has no effect 
upon it. It can be carved into any form, and fin¬ 
ished in any style of surface. It takes a higher 
16 


polish than marble, and has nearly as great a 
variety of colors. The colors range from almost 
white in the grays to blue and nearly black, and 
from light pink to dark red. Occasionally a 
variety with a greenish tint is found, but it is not 
common. 



Granite is employed for public buildings and 
other large structures in cities for which its mas¬ 
sive appearance and great strength make it suit¬ 
able. Some quarries are pretty well known over 
the country by the public buildings for which they 
have furnished stone. A good illustration of this 




























is the Vinal Haven Quarry in Maine. Granite 
from this quarry is found in the buildings of the 
State and War departments at Washington; the 
Auditorium and Pullman Building, Chicago; the 
Federal Building, Brooklyn, and the polished 
granite surfaces in the State House at Indianapolis. 

The readiness with which granite yields to treat¬ 
ment, enables the architect, by different styles of 
finish to obtain pleasing contrasts with harmony of 
color by using only one kind of stone. This makes 
this stone especially suited to building purposes. 

Another extensive use of granite is in the con¬ 
struction of streets and roads. It has been found 
that the busiest streets in great cities stand longest 
and serve their purpose best when paved with 
stone. Granite makes an excellent paving stone 
because it is hard enough to stand wear well and 
brittle enough to keep from wearing smooth. The 
paving block industry has assumed large propor¬ 
tions, and is quite remunerative to the companies. 
The blocks are usually four and a half inches wide, 
six or seven deep, and eight or twelve long. They 
can often be cut from what would otherwise be 
waste, but are sometimes worked directly from the 
sheets. The sheets are broken by hammers into 
strips the width of the block, and these are then 
broken into blocks. A successful workman on 
paving blocks must be able to tell at a glance in 


what direction the stone will split the most readily, 
and must be skillful in the use of his hammer. 

The manufacture of curbing stones forms a good 
part of the business of some quarries. Curbstones 
are from six to twelve feet long, six to eight inches 
wide, and about two feet deep. The stones are 
dressed at the ends so as to make a good joint, and 
on the top and for a few inches on the back next 
to the walk. When we think of the miles of curb¬ 
ing in our cities, we can see that this branch of the 
granite industry alone would make a large business. 

Granite is also used in paving streets where a 
smooth surface is required. For this purpose the 
stone is either broken into small pieces by ham¬ 
mering, or in crushing machines when a small size 
is desired. The crushed rock is then mixed with 
a cement and rolled down under a heavy pressure. 
When the cement hardens, we have one of the 
finest road surfaces that can be made. 

A few years ago all the granite monuments in 
our cemeteries came from Scotland. The stone is 
of a rich red color, very hard, and takes a high 
polish. It was soon discovered that American 
granite could be polished as well as that brought 
from Scotland, and now only a few Scotch monu¬ 
ments are purchased. Granite furnishes excellent 
material for monuments on account of its durability 
and the great beauty of its polished surface. 

19 


We also find granite supplanting marble for out¬ 
door statuary in our public parks and many 
of the largest monuments. Some of these monu¬ 
ments are among the most beautiful works of art 
to be seen in the country, and their shafts will 
rival in size and beauty those of the Ancient 
Egyptians mentioned in the first pages of the 
chapter. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in 
Boston Common, and the monument erected at 
Plymouth, Mass., to commemorate the landing ofthe 
Pilgrims, are among the most celebrated. As we 
noticed how the Egyptians wrote their history in 
stone, let us look at this monument and see how 
the same thing is done now. 

The base of the monument is forty-five feet high 
and supports a statue of thirty-six feet. The main 
pedestal is in the form of an octagon with four 
large and four small faces; from the small 
pedestal project four wing pedestals, or but¬ 
tresses. 

The statue on the main pedestal is a majestic 
figure of Faith. One foot is firmly planted on 
Plymouth Rock. The left hand holds a Bible and 
the right hand points towards Heaven. The face, 
which has an expression of sublime trust, is bent 
downward. The length of the outstretched arm is 
nineteen feet and ten inches; the head at the fore¬ 
head measures thirteen feet and seven inches, and 
20 


the arm just below the short sleeve, six feet and 
ten inches in circumference. 

On each of the four pedestals are seated figures 
which represent the principles by which the 
Pilgrims were guided in founding the state. The 
figures are Morality, holding the Decalogue in one 
hand and a scroll of Revelation in the other; Law, 
with Justice and Mercy; Education, with Wisdom 
on one side and Youth led by Experience on the 
other; and Freedom, with Peace under her protec¬ 
tion and Tyranny hurled down from power. 

Upon the faces of the projecting pedestal are re¬ 
liefs representing scenes from the history of the 
Pilgrims, the departure from Delft-Haven, the 
signing of the compact, the landing at Plymouth, 
and the first treaty with the Indians. This wonder¬ 
ful story in stone is told as eloquently and even 
more beautifully than are those chiseled by the 
Egyptian sculptor upon his ancient obelisks. 

Suggestions: —See how many different kinds of granite 
you can find, and explain the different colors. 

How can you account for the shape and smoothness of 
granite pebbles? 

Compare a granite and a marble monument and describe 
the difference in the structure of the rock. 


21 


COPPER AND ZINC. 

In the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea is 
situated a large island called Cyprus. Here many 
centuries ago the Romans were accustomed to mine 
a bright red metal, which they named Cuprum, from 
the name of the island. To-day we call this same 
metal copper. This incident shows that copper was 
known to the Romans, who used it in a pure state 
for coin, and when alloyed with tin, for shields, 
armor plates and statues. 

But copper was known as a useful metal long 
before the time of the Romans. We are told that 
Cheops, the builder of the great pyramids in Egypt, 
worked a copper mine in the Sinai peninsula, and 
that the Egyptians had a process of hardening cop¬ 
per so that they could make out of it tools for cut¬ 
ting stone and other hard substances. Many cop¬ 
per utensils have been discovered among the ruins of 
ancient Babylon, and in the book of Job, which some 
scholars believe to be the oldest book of the Bible, we 
read that “copper was molten out of stone.’’ 

Copper was used by the native races of America 
long before this continent was discovered by white 
men. When the Spaniards conquered Mexico in 
1521 they found the Aztecs using axes and other 
22 


tools made of copper, and the Incas of Peru were 
found in possession of similar implements a few years 
later. Both nations had large copper mines in their 
countries, which they worked with success. 

Copper, like gold, is found pure in some localities, 
were it occurs in veins and pockets in the surround¬ 
ing rock. This is called native copper, and is the 
source of about one-fourth of the supply produced 
•in the United States. The larger amount is, how¬ 
ever, extracted from ores, most of which are com¬ 
pounds of copper and sulphur, or copper and car¬ 
bon dioxide. The latter form carbonates of copper, 
and are among the most beautiful rocks known. One 
variety, called azurite, is a beautiful blue crystal 
suitable for ornaments, but it is not found in suffi¬ 
ciently large quantities to make it a source of cop¬ 
per. The other carbonate is called malachite. It 
has a mottled green appearance and is hard enough 
to take a polish like marble. Malachite is exten¬ 
sively quarried in the Ural mountains, and is used 
in making mantels, table tops, and many smaller 
ornamental articles, such as matchsafes, inkstands 
and the like. When polished it is very beautiful, 
and objects made from it are so expensive as to 
place them above the means of any but the wealthy. 
Inkstands of malachite often cost from $16 to $20, 
and table tops sometimes are valued as high as 
$2000. It is needless to say that the best quality 
23 


of malachite is not used in the production of copper, 
as it is much more valuable for other purposes. A 
number of carbonates of inferior quality, however, 
constitute an important source from which copper 
is obtained. 

The compounds of copper and sulphur form the 
most abundant ores. These are easily recognized 
by their brass-like color and metallic luster. This 
ore is often known as yellow copper and copper 
pyrites. It is very brittle and often so soft that it 
can be cut with a knife. Another variety, contain¬ 
ing more sulphur and called copper glance, is also 
an important source of supply. Sometimes iron is 
combined with the copper in these sulphur ores, 
and when this occurs the rock reflects various tints 
of purple and is called peacock copper or horse¬ 
flesh ore. 

COPPER MINES. 

While copper is very generally distributed over 
the earth, it occurs in large quantities in only a few 
localities. In Europe there are several important 
mines in Spain, which have been worked for cen¬ 
turies; others are found in the Ural mountains in 
Russia, and others in Norway and Sweden, Sax¬ 
ony, France, and in Cornwall and Devonshire, En¬ 
gland. 

However interesting it might be to learn the his¬ 
tory of the copper mines of other countries, we arc 

24 


more particularly interested in those at home, both 
because they are connected with the industrial de¬ 
velopment of our country, and because they are 
the largest in the world. The great copper mines 
of the United States are located in Michigan, Mon¬ 
tana and Arizona. Considerable copper is obtained 
from the gold and silver mines of Colorado and Cal¬ 
ifornia, in connection with the smelting of these 
ores, and small mines are also found in a few 
states through which the Appalachian mountains 
pass, but the three states first named produce nearly 
all the copper mined in the country. 

If you look on the map of Michigan, you will see 
a small point of land projecting into Lake Superior 
from about the middle of its south shore. This is 
Keewenaw Point; it is a little more than 60 miles 
long and about 20 wide in its widest place. On 
this point are located the most interesting copper 
mines in the world. 

The mines on Keewenaw Point have been worked 
since 1845, and from 1874 to 1883 they supplied 
more than one-half the copper produced in the 
United States. The metal occurs as native and is 
found in veins and pockets inclosed in a conglom¬ 
erate *ock. Occasionally the most beautiful crys¬ 
tals are found encased in a pure milk-white quartz. 
These are highly prized for cabinet specimens. 

There are six large mines now in operation, and 

25 



UNDERGROUND IN THE CAEUMET AND HECEA MINE. 

main shaft has a vertical descent of more than 
6,000 feet, by far the deepest in the world. 

The operation of these mines requires the most 
powerful machinery that can be constructed for 
such purposes, and the city of Calumet, which has 
26 


one of them, the Calumet and Hecla, has obtained a 
world-wide reputation on account of its great value 
and the extent of its operations. The miners have 
been constantly seeking lower levels, and now the 









been built up around the shafts, is a city of tall 
chimneys and large engines, used in ventilating 
the mines, pumping out the water and hoisting the 
ore. Since a full description of how all this is done 
has been given in describing the operation of a coal 
mine, we do not need to repeat it here. 

The Montana mines are located at Butte and at 
Anaconda, which like Calumet are mining cities. 
These mines are more like quarries and are not 
noted for their depth. The ore is copper pyrite, 
copper glance and peacock copper, and occurs in 
granite. The Montana mines have been developed 
within the last few years and now produce the 
largest amount of copper of any in the country. 
The Arizona mines are located in the southwestern 
part of the territory in the Clifton, Bisbee and 
Globe districts. The ore is either a carbonate or 
an oxide. These mines have been worked since 
1883 and now produce about one-fourth of the out¬ 
put of the country. 

SMELTING. 

The method of treating copper ore depends upon 
its composition. Where the ore contains only 
native copper, like that of the Lake Superior region, 
the treatment is very simple. The ore is crushed 
in heavy stamp mills, and the copper separated by 
washing. The crude metal is then sent to the 
smelters, melted and run into ingots, which are 
27 



ready for shipment. Since copper is smelted 
without difficulty no such elaborate furnaces are 
required as in the reduction of iron ore 

Ores containing sulphur are subjected to a com¬ 
plex treatment. Usually the ore is broken into 


• SMElyTING WORKS—EAKE UNDEN. 

pieces about the size of anthracite coal used in 
stoves. It is then roasted to expel the sulphur, 
which passes off in the form of gas. As the 
sulphurous gas kills all vegetation which it touches, 
regions near the smelting works present a desolate 
28 










appearance. After being roasted the ore is 
melted, producing “ matte,” a compound of copper, 
sulphur and whatever other metals the ore may 
contain, but having from 50 to 65 per cent of 
copper. The matte is usually remelted and placed 
in Bessemer converters, where the sulphur and 
arsenic, if present, are expelled by a process 
similar to that used in making Bessemer steel. 

The result of this process is usually an alloy of 
gold, silver and copper. The alloy is now dissolved 
in acid and the solution treated with a powerful 
electric current. The pure copper collects around 
one wire conveying the current, and known as the 
negative pole, and the gold and silver settle on the 
bottom of the vessel as a brown mud. 

PROPERTIES AND USES 

Copper has a peculiar red color and a disagree¬ 
able odor. When exposed to the air it oxidizes 
and turns brown, but this does not seem to work 
any injury to the metal. It is about nine times as 
heavy as water, and among the common metals 
ranks next to iron in hardness and strength. 
Copper is very ductile and malleable; next to 
silver, it is the best known conductor of electricity; 
it is also one of the best conductors of heat. When 
taken into the system it is one of the most fatal 
poisons. 


29 


The uses of copper are many, and they are being 
constantly extended. During the last quarter of 
the nineteenth century the application of electricity 
to so many purposes created such a demand for 
copper as greatly to advance the price. 

Copper nails, bolts and plates are extensively 
used in the building of ships. Another important 
use of the pure metal is in making electro-plates 
for printing. Pure copper has also been used for 
coin ever since money was known. 

Some of the numerous alloys of copper are 
brass, gun metal, bell metal, and many kinds of 
bronze. An alloy of copper, zinc and nickel is 
known as German silver. 

The United States now leads the world in the 
production of copper. The annual output amounts 
to more than a billion pounds; coming from the 
Lake Superior mines, the Montana mines, the 
Arizona mines, and certain small mines. 

ZINC 

Zinc ore is always in the form of rock, and the 
makers of brass and bronze among the ancient 
Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and other peoples 
discovered that by reducing this rock to a powder, 
and mixing it with molten copper, brass could be 
made, and for many centuries this process was in 
use in the manufacture of brass and bronze. 

Pure zinc was first manufactured for use in 
so 


1721. In 1850 it was manufactured for use in 
New Jersey, and now the United States manu¬ 
factures nearly one-fourth of the zinc produced 
in the world. 

The oldest zinc mines in the country are in New 
Jersey and in Lehigh Co., Pennsylvania. Later, 
deposits of ore were discovered near Knoxville, 
Tenn., in Arkansas, in the southwestern part of 
Wisconsin, and in Missouri and Kansas. 

SMELTING 

Zinc ores are compounds of zinc with sulphur, 
carbon or oxygen, and the process of extracting 
the metal from them is a very complicated and 
difficult one. The sulphides and carbonates are 
first roasted to drive off the sulphur, carbonic acid 
and water. The roasted ore is then crushed fine 
and mixed with fine coal or coal dust in propor¬ 
tions of about six parts of ore to four parts of 
coal. This mixture is placed in a furnace made 
specially for the purpose, and heated. 

The zinc melts and changes to vapor at a lower 
temperature than is necessary to liberate it from 
the ore, hence the process is called distillation. 
The zinc rises in the form of vapor, which passes 
out through tubes in the top of the furnace and is 
collected in chambers having a temperature low 
enough to change the vapor to liquid zinc, which 
is gathered in a tank on the bottom of the chamber. 

31 


The molten metal is drawn off and cast into ingots. 

Zinc obtained from the smelter usually contains 
more or less sulphur and arsenic, and needs to be 
redistilled before using. When purified it is 
melted and worked into the form desired. 
PROPERTIES AND USES 

Zinc is of a grayish-white color, but if scraped 
or filed the exposed surface is nearly as white as 
silver. The degrees of hardness and brittleness 
depend entirely upon the temperature. When cold, 
zinc is hard and very brittle, but on warming to 
about the temperature of boiling water, it be¬ 
comes soft and malleable and can be rolled into 
sheets. If the temperature is raised, however, the 
brittleness returns. 

The most common use of zinc is in the form of 
sheets, which are employed for numerous purposes 
familiar to all. Other extensive uses are in mak- 
iiig parts of galvanic batteries, and galvanized 
iron. 

The manufacture of zinc cannot be considered 
as one of the important industries of the United 
States, for the value of the entire output will not 
exceed $75,000,000 a year, but the relation which 
zinc sustains to other metals that form the basis 
of some of our greatest industries is such as to 
make a knowledge of its properties and uses 
necessary. 


32 


The Little Classic Series 

The most popular works of standard authors and poets 
arranged for use in schools, with introductions, explanatory 
notes, biographical sketches, portraits, and illustrations. 

Also elementary stories of nature, myth, history, industry, 
geography, biography, and literature. The grading sug¬ 
gested has been extensively followed by teachers with very 
satisfactory results, but may be varied to suit special 
conditions. ✓ 

The books have been carefully edited, are clearly printed on 
good paper, and have extra strong paper cover. Each book 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES contains thirty-two pages. 


SEVEN CENTS PER COPY 

Twenty Copies for $1.20 


Third and Fourth Grades 

No. 

2831 Aunt Martha’s Corner Cupboard— 

Part I. 

2832 Aunt Martha’s Corner Cupboard— 

Part II. 

2833 Aunt Martha’s Corner Copboard— 

Part III. 

2808 How Little Cedric Became a 
Knight. 

2835 The Little Brown Pitcher. 

2737 The Golden Bird and Seven Ravens. 

2836 The Little Brown Man. 

2821 Longfellow and Hiawatha. . 

2837 The Queer Little Tailor. 

2815 Stories of Old New England. 

2839 Drakestail and Choosing a King. 
2739 Daffydowndilly and the Golden 

Touch. 

2903 A Christmas Carol. 

2822 Stories of Sir Launcelot and Other 

King Arthur Stories. 

2840 Story of Leather, Boots and Shoes. 

2816 The Story of a Beehive. 

2922 Miss Alcott’s Girls. 

2741 Two Brownie Parties. 

2841 The Story of King Corn. 

2817 Stories of ’76. 

2925 The Story of Coal. 

2805 Some of Our Birds. 

2926 The Story of Wheat. 

2818 Arthur, The Hero King. 

2927 The Story of King Cotton. 

2806 King Arthur Stories. 


Fourth and Fifth Grades 

No. 

2928 The Story of Sugar. 

2919 The Story of Daniel Boone. 

2929 The Story of Lumber. 

2913 American Naval Heroes. 

2930 The Story of Iron. 

2834 Little Goody Two Shoes. 

2931 Night Before Christmas and Other 

Christmas Poems. 

2907 Our Pilgrim Forefathers. 

2932 The Story of Granite, Copper and 

Zinc. 

2901 The Story of Abraham Lincoln. 

2933 The Story of Marble and Slate. 

2920 The Story of Washington. 

2934 The Story of Fruit. 

2914 The Story of Benjamin Franklin. 

2935 Norse Heroes. 

2908 A Longfellow Booklet. 

2936 Norse Myths. 

2838 The Bluest of Blue Birds. 

2937 Norse Legends. 

2902 The Norse Seamen and Christo¬ 

pher Columbus. 

2915 The Story of the Revolution. 

2909 Henry Hudson and Other Explor¬ 

ers. 

2916 Miss Alcott’s Boys. 

2910 Orioles, Bobolinks and other Birds. 
2923 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Fourth and Fifth Grades. 

2917 Grace Darling and Florence Night¬ 

ingale. 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 

CHICAGO 




The Little 


BRARY OF CONGRESS 


The most popular work 
arranged for use in schoo 
notes, biographical sket< 

Also elementary stories < 

geography, biography, an^--- 

gested has been extensively followed 
satisfactory results, but may be 
conditions. 

The books have been carefully edite 
good paper, and have extra strong p 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES a 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


111 


0 002 122 757 2 # 

SEVEN CENTS rtK 


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Fifth and Sixth Grades 

No. 

2938 The Story of Gold and Silver. 

2911 The Story of Jeanne (Joan)D’Arc. 

3020 The Story of Our Fla?. 

2923 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Fourth and Fifth Grades. 

2939 The Story of Oil. 

2905 The Three Golden Apples* 

2940 Longfellow's Poems. 

2924 The Story of Electricity* 

3002 Rab and His Friends* 

2918 William McKinley. 

3021 The Great Stone Face. 

2912 The Discovery of America* 

2943 The Story of Paper, Pens* Pencils* 

etc. 

3019 The Story of Steam. 

2944 The Story of Printing* 

3013 Father Marquette. 

2945 The Story of Newspapers and 

Books. 

3007 The Miraculous Pitcher. 

3025 The Story of Robinhood* 

3001 The Story of La Salle. 

Sixth and Seventh Grades 

No. 

3026 The Story of Motors. 

3014 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Sixth Grade. 

3016 Rip Van Winkle and Author’s Ac¬ 
count of Himself. 

3008 The King of The Golden River. 

3027 The Story of Glass. 

2941 The Golden Fleece. 

3028 The Meat-Packing Industry. 

2942 Whittier’s Poems. 

3029 Tennyson’s Poems. 

3015 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 

3030 Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare— 

Part I. 

3031 Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare— 

Part II. 


No. 

3009 The Pied Piper of Hamlin and 

Other Poems. 

3011 The Song of Hiawatha—Abridged. 

3003 The Snow-Image. 

3032 Primitive Travel and Transporta¬ 

tion. 

3022 The Courtship of Miles Standish* 

3033 The Story of Ships and Shipping. 
3024 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Seventh Grade. 

3034 Ocean Routes and Navigation* 

Seventh and Eighth Grades 

No. 

3035 American Railway Systems. 

3018 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 

3010 Evangeline. 

3036 Horatius at the Bridge, and Other 

Poems. 

3012 The Cotter’s Saturday Night and 

Other Poems. 

3037 Lowell's Poems. 

3004 Thanatopsis and Other Poems. 

3006 The Deserted Village (Goldsmith) 

and Gray's Elegy. 

3038 Washington's Farewell Address 

and Other Papers. 

3122 The Vision of Sir Launfal and 
Other Poems. 

3039 Prisoner of Chillon and Other 

Poems. 

3017 Snow-Bound and the Corn Song. 
3115 The Magna Charta. 

3040 Sir Roger De Coverley Papers. 

3041 Carrying the U. S. Mail. 

3108 Speeches by Lincoln* 

3005 Enoch Arden. 

3101 Sohrab and Rustum. 

3042 Navigating the Air—Electric Rail¬ 

ways. 

3107 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 
Eighth Grade. 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
CHICAGO 





































